Awkward Soul

I was planning on making a strawberry matcha post weight lifting smoothie, but I found some sad looking frozen blueberries in my freezer and decided to do an all blueberry smoothie instead.

blueberry matcha 1/2tsp + soy protein powder + 1.5 cup soy milk + blueberry jam + frozen blueberries + some greek yogurt + ice. phew!

and I inhaled my smoothie! I was so hungry and this doubles as lunch!

I decided to attempt another photo shoot with Benson for the photo contest http://www.butikiteas.com/Contest.html

I chose to use this tea as I should really drink it up, and it’s spring + bunny, hey!

Anyways, I got the bag thrown at me and it got chewed. Now there’s holes in the bag.

Thankfully, I got one good picture and a video evidence of the bag getting chewed and tossed. Benson! My bunny is full of mischief! I’ll link the pic and video once I get it submitted.

Now, I can relax and have some of this tea. I forgot how crazy buttery and full flavored this tea is! yum!!!

SOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!

Really nice chocolate, orange and marshmallow taste in this tea! With a fab black tea base to boot! Totally reminds me of Terry’s Chocolate Oranges and chilling out with my Dad.

I had some interesting steeping observations, I noted on my blog:
I had a few steeping times that were off due to impatience or not paying attention. I accidentally oversteeped it by 30 seconds and the marshmallows really popped out. The marshmallow was interesting, but I preferred a weaker marshmallow flavor. I found at the 3 minute steeping mark you get a good balance of the chocolate/orange/marshmallow. The 2:45 minute mark there is very little marshmallow flavor in the first steeping.

Full review with pics at my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/three-friends-from-butiki-teas-tea-review/

EDIT: this is my 500th tasting note! WOWZZAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

When I got into my bag of tea I noticed that all the starfruit slices are sticky! Uh oh!!! I’ve never had that happen to tea!

With that said, I should really drink this tea down! This cup wasn’t too bad – I added a bit more extra leaf than normal. The fruityness was improved, but the white base is still unappealing. So disappointing!

What the? Sipdown? I thought I’d have this tea perma stashed.

But it was my last iced tea batch, barely. There’s 1/4tsp of strawberry rhubarb parfait in there. Lots of dusty bits that got steeped – yum, bottom of tin bits!

Very melony for my last iced teas! I made this with both german sugar and a little honey – very tasty! This tea will be missed, or restocked next time I do a DT order. Not sure when that’s gonna be, I already asked my dad to buy me teaware I wanted from the spring collection!

This sample was amazing!

I wish I took pictures of this blend! More if I could capture the smell to show everyone! Very amazing apple scent!

Taste? Great black tea base, loads of natural and fresh apple flavor. I sat there awhile trying to figure out what kind of apple I was tasting. The apple was crisp, like a golden delicious, but the skin tasted sweet like a red delicious or gala. The floral is really low here but melded with the apple.

Love it! I need more of this tea sometime.

Full Review on my blog, the oolong owl. I did a review of the 3 samples I received! http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/ninas-paris-sample-tea-review/

Mmm, Nina’s Japon smelled amazing before steeping!

I do like the combination of the black tea and genmaicha, plus it was creamy! Those flavors really worked well with the creamy, caramel and coconut aftertaste. I’d personally like a little less black in this blend, but I did like the extra depth it added.

This one seemed picky to steep and needs a shorter steeping time.

Full Review on my blog, the oolong owl. I did a review of the 3 samples I received! http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/ninas-paris-sample-tea-review/

I had high hopes for this one – papaya, melon, peach and cream flavors?

However, I didn’t pick up those flavors, maybe a teeny bit – but the black tea base was overpoweringly strong. The black tea was going astringent for me as well.

I’m not sure if this one just lost it’s flavor, or it’s more for a black tea drinker who wants a strong black tea with secret fruit in it! Alas, this one wasn’t for me – I want melon flavor!

Full Review on my blog, the oolong owl. I did a review of the 3 samples I received! http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/ninas-paris-sample-tea-review/

Wooooot! S’mores Genmaicha! I was very excited to see this tea up! Though, my tea no buy plan was unhappy. Pfffff! When a cool 52 Tea comes out, no buys are out the window!

Anyways, I greatly enjoyed this tea and will be buying another package if it ever is reblended! It better be reblended!

This genmaicha is very dark chocolately with marshmallow flavors, with a savory, roasted, little smokey genmaicha. If you had Marshmallow Treat (and love chocolate)

Full Review with lots of pictures at my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/smores-genmaicha-from-52-teas-tea-review/

gotta run! easter craft fair time!! Whhhheeee! Love bunnies!

Kamba Berry!

This one is a sneaky tea! Purple tea, lots of blueberry going on, some strawberry, little natural sweetness, some puckery tart (making it remind me of cranberry almost), some herbyness, and some dry ginger. The berryness is lovely and I love all the interest with the herby and ginger. The dryness was SNEAKY in making me want to keep drinking! I’m not a huge fan of tart and dry but I enjoyed this tea for the very good berry taste!

Very good iced as well – I think I’ll continue with the rest of my batch iced.

Full Review with lots of pictures (of owl bears attacking my tea) on my blog, The Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/kamba-berry-from-butiki-teas-tea-review/

oh yeah! Made a nice 24oz pot of this tea to enjoy for brunch. Turned out very well – 175F for 4 minutes is perfect!
Cherry, creamy, floral flavor, but when I smell the tea it is really sweet, but doesn’t taste overly sweet!

I was feeling off the last day or two, so I thought this tea would be a nice treat, which it was! yay! /love

annd I forgot to drink this tea yesterday, which I drank a couple steepings of 2 days ago. EEEP!!!!

So, I steeped the leaves western style for like 5 minutes. Might be kinda crazy waiting 2 days, but ehhh. Flavor is okay, a little light, but still kinda vegetal and kinda sweet.
Goes very well with my Okonomiyaki which I made with my husband’s homemade bacon!

I really really wanted to have a cup of this tea – but I finished my first package and my second one remained unopened. Took lots of talking with myself to open it – I mean, I should drink it! That’s why I bought it!

Anyways, I went on a nice easy bike ride and then came home and baked cookies. White chocolate chip, strawberry cranberry, macadamia nut cookies. Uggg. Totally ate back the calories of that bike ride. Probably 2 two bike rides. Sigh.

Well, time to chase down those cookies with this tasty tea so I don’t eat more cookies!

/sip

OOoooohhh sooo smooth peanut buttery good! Man I love peanut butter right now. Maybe I should make peanut butter cookies next time. ARRRGGGG!

This tea smells amazing!

Though, has an interesting mix of ingredients. It’s a fruit only herbal containing lots of various fruity bits, but also with cardamon, cinnamon and egg sugar drops.

Hot without sweetener, this tea is INSANELY TART! I thought my face was going to suck into itself. Sweetened, the tartness is improved, but pretty tart still.

Iced is where this tea is at (with LOTS of sugar) – Loads of strawberry flavor, hint of spice adding interest. A little creamyness. Not flat tasting at all and quite tasty.

Not a bad tea, but it needs lots of sugar. I don’t mind a bit of tart, but this is pretty crazy super tart! I’d buy this again, but I’m a little worried I’ll just be adding too much sugar.

Full review on my blog, the oolong owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/strawberry-blizzard-from-georgia-tea-co-tea-review/

I decided to sip down my sample!

I drank 3 steepings – all light, buttery and vegetal. Now I’m full of caffeine, like I feel my eyes are huge but almost tired. I wanted a nice oolong before dinner, maybe this was a little too much before dinner!

Well, hopefully I’ll do another couple steepings tomorrow morning. Very tempted to have them right now, but I’ll be going crazier than normal at jiu jitsu tonight!

I bought 2oz of this tea, I figured it be good!

I was totally right! I’ve had Lemon Chiffon before, which is amazing, and this one has that lemon drop yummyness, but also with a little bit of bitter lime flavor thrown in. Very creamy of a tea. No funky rooibos taste. The dry leaf smell of this tea is out of this world!

I figured I will try to have this or Lemon Chiffon always in stock. I really need to snag some Lime Chiffon too!

Full review on my blog, the oolong owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/lemon-lime-cream-tart-from-della-terra-teas-tea-review/

Having this tea for breakfast! Very juicy!

I forgot how good this black is – maybe as I’ve had a couple unflavored blacks after this tea, and now having this one. I think it either set the bar or this black just is the one my tastebuds dig. I love the sweetness and lychee notes and lack of bitterness!

Looking back at the info on this tea – Nooo it’s attack of the leaf hoppers! Sadly, those are bugs, not bunnies!

Something that is just so comforting tasting with this tea – really tastes like teas I drank as a kid, but better!

I gave 100g tin to my MIL awhile back – yesterday she told me that she really loves this tea! Though, she dislikes orange in teas, but this one is the only one she likes.

So tired from Rushfit, I think my arms are falling off from all those rows! I steeped up some Skinny with my late lunch and felt energized again, yay!

I snagged this tea as part of the last iheartteas sale on etsy! WHoooooo! Is this one discontinued?

This is really good cold steeped! Really bright raspberry flavor! Overnight was a bit much though, it got a little too strong of a white tea taste/ going bitter verses last night deliciousness. Hot or iced? I don’t like as much – the raspberry tastes not as good – too much like raspberry juice powder in a way, but coldsteep the flavor is much better!

Uggg, really dragging my butt today to do my RushFit for the morning. I’m working out so much, but I need to drop all that winter weight! Plus that rich dinner last night, and I snacked on a few polvoron filipino shortbread cookies over the weekend (very good with tea btw)

I was thinking of skipping it, but I HORRIBLY rigged it on my HabitRPG to make doing Rushfit count or I lose lots of HP (or do it and gain lots of EXP and Gold!) https://habitrpg.com

Argg, must work out! Once I finish this cup, I’m gonna do it! Noo, I’m out! /cry

Way too rich of a dinner party last night!
My husband made an Emeril recipe that involved duck rolled with bacon, avocado and pistachios. Then a Julia Child french onion soup and my custard caramel pudding. Spent the evening all dragging around from overly rich food.

Woke up and having another “not awake” morning and went for the good bagged tea. No idea how long I left the bag in for – tastes okay though. I’ve discovered if I put a tea on a very visible spot on my shelf, i’ll drink more of it! This one is there, next to a few others I’m trying to work through.

I cold steeped Ginger Zinger for around 2 to 3 hours. While I was making tonight’s dessert for a dinner party, http://youtu.be/N6JZx86OyXM (Custard Pudding, or I call it Leche Flan) I was sipping away at my cold tea.

Ginger Zinger is pretty good cold steeped – actually tastes pretty close to how it tastes hot, but now cold! Orange and peach is there and ginger is humming about. Very good, I think i prefer this tea hot, but cold steeped as even more refreshing!

I’ve noticed with both white teas I’ve purchased from ESP Emp. that the bai mu dan base is kinda stale and flat. It’s not like the juicy, delicate, lush, and slightly floral like other white tea blends I’ve had with other online tea sellers. Or I’m just spoiled.

The fruit combination was nice and sweetener helps pull out the pear flavor. Pear is nice in tea! I need to find more pear blends!

Full review and pics on my blog, the oolong owl http://oolongowl.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/organic-mango-pear-deluxe-from-esp-emporium-tea-review/

I was looking for a black tea this morning and I was surprised how much of this tea I have!

I made it as a latte with honey and soymilk. I think I didn’t add enough leaf, as it’s a little light on flavor, but still nice caramel flavor with some pumpkin.

Because its one of “those” weird mornings, I’m watching videos of people throwing bricks inside of running washing machines http://youtu.be/vROdVsU_K80
yeah. I don’t wanna show the husband. He might get ideas for the old washer.

/stretch stretch
I escaped brazilian jiujitsu practice with mat burn on both feet! Not bad, no sprained fingers! Though, very sore all over from 2.5 hours of working out.

This is the first time I enjoyed waiting for a long steeping 6.5 minutes this time! I did stretches while I waited for my tea and feel much better!
The taste? Very good, I love the banana taste and the creamy caramelly flavors. Totally worth steeping this one for extra time!

After this cup, I’m gonna crash to get ready for 9am jiujitsu practice!